The air defense commander was gloomy. He was pushed out to be responsible for the final interception of Ifes Island and now he has become the target of public criticism.

Local governments in the participating countries, including Oceania and North America, as well as in the central government of the Federation, are constantly hearing voices denouncing him and asking him to apologize for the deaths of the people;

'It's obviously the Space Force's fault...' The best outcome would be to cancel the benefits and retire directly. Now he has no worries.

"We can't stop it, and the Zeon army has plenty of 'ammunition' in the sky. Are we supposed to sit on the ground and wait to die?"

Although this sounds rough, no one among the generals present can refute it.

After a moment of awkward silence, Admiral Gopp spoke.

"I wonder if you have seen the official news from the Federation since Ifes Island hit the earth?" Gop said, pulling out a remote control from the small drawer under the conference table.

"Gop, just say what you want to say directly, don't play charades here." The federal naval officer who suffered the most heavy losses felt like he had been shot today.

The broad-minded General Gepu did not take his harsh words to heart, but fiddled with the remote control at hand, "Let me see, it's almost time."

As he spoke, Gop pressed the remote control against the TV on the wall of the conference room, and the TV screen lit up.

"...Professor Van Wel, what do you think of the demands of the inhabitants of the universe?"

What appeared on the screen seemed to be a current affairs commentary program from the Federal Central Station. The host and an invited guest were sitting on the left and right of the table, sitting at both ends of the table.

"Well... well... ah... this issue is very complicated. We need to look at it dialectically by combining historical development and ongoing history..." The professor with the weird accent looked like he was about to give a long speech.

"...In short, since the founding of the Side 0050 Republic in the 3s, they have insisted on solving problems through dialogue. We should have been able to avoid all the tragedies that are happening now through good communication."

The professor sighed and shook his head, seeming very sad.

"However, there is indeed a small group of militants in our government who have twisted the Zeon people's beautiful vision into a provocation to the unquestionable authority of the Federation, exaggerated the threat of space colonies, and colluded with the military industrial conglomerate in the Federation's subsequent military expansion. Profit from it.”

Professor Van Wel, who had just explained a lot of views on the irrelevance of colonial independence and would only accelerate the economic development of the Earth's sphere, made another astonishing statement.

"Look," Van Veer pointed to the PPT behind him, which showed the comparison of the number of space force warships with the number of warships belonging to all Side colonies, including the Principality of Zeon, since the expansion of the Federation Space Force in the 60s.

"Even if you only look at the quantity and not the type of warships, the Federal Space Force's strength is five times that of its opponents. Is this really necessary?"

The host, who saw the director winking wildly, was also a little stunned:

"Professor, according to the official report of the Federation Space Force, the Principality of Zeon did not hesitate to take the lead in using nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, causing heavy losses to the Federation's soldiers and civilians. Does this mean that the Federation's long-standing military expansion policy is prescient? ?”

Professor Van Wel puffed his beard and stared, as if you, the host, had received black money from the federal army.

"Doesn't this mean that the Federal Space Force spends so much budget every year to expand its seemingly huge fleet, but in fact the money is not spent at all to improve combat effectiveness..."

"What nonsense is he talking about?" Admiral Collini became a little anxious. "What are the people at the Radio, Film and Television Bureau doing to allow such irresponsible remarks to be broadcast publicly... Everyone has seen the combat records of our Federal Space Force. In the month Now, at Hart, we are all doing our best, and this is definitely not just me..."

"Okay, okay, General Colini, don't worry. What I want to say is that this is the official channel of the federal central government. I think everyone understands what this means, right?"

General Gopp spread his hands and spoke in a leisurely manner. However, the meaning behind his words made the senior officers of the federal army present look at each other.

After realizing that the Earth Federation Army might not be able to intercept the subsequent crash of colonial satellites, the Prime Minister of the Federation, and most of the civilian government behind him, obviously believed that the Federation had lost the war——

After all, not to mention the destruction of three Sides and the impact of Iphis Island on the Earth, which caused economic losses exceeding several years of GPD in the entire Earth circle. The Principality of Zeon has been just sitting in the sky throwing things down, and the Federation can take them. How to do it?

This change in the propaganda trend is proof that the peace negotiators in the federal government are plotting to bypass the federal army.

"Peace negotiation faction? Surrender faction! We should immediately deny at the official level the rumors that the Federation Army is unable to intercept the falling colonial satellite. The Federation Army vows to fight to the end against Zeon's anti-human gangsters..."

"Isn't official denial no different from active admission?"

"Don't forget, the Prime Minister's defense adviser also served in our federal army, so he is not ignorant." General Collini knocked on the table and said seriously:

"Those cowardly traitors can no longer be trusted, and now is the time for our military to play our role as the last defenders of the Union."

Chapter 41: Regrouping (2)

January 0079.1.15, Year 2 of the Universe (UC [-]), Federal Space Force, Luna [-] Base.

"...This is the situation now, do you understand? Lieutenant General Cunningham." On the screen, the voice of Chief of General Staff Kim Collini, who was using a secure communication link, was somewhat distorted, "I would like to congratulate you first. He has been promoted, this is the first time that such a young and promising general appears in the Federal Space Force."

Cunningham, now a lieutenant general, showed no sign of joy on his face;

"I don't understand, Commander, as the defeated general in the Battle of Hart..."

"You will understand," Admiral Colini glanced at Cunningham meaningfully, "The responsibility for the failure of the Battle of Hart is not yours or mine, nor can it even be counted on Rebeer who underestimated the enemy and rushed in, or Tian who lost his fighter plane. On top of that—this is the consensus of the Federal Space Force."

On the confidential screen, General Collini's brows and eyes were covered by the shadow of the brim of his military cap, making it difficult to see his current expression.

"You were calm and composed when Ray Bill was captured, and commanded the fleet to withdraw from the battlefield in an orderly manner. This was more difficult than commanding a victory... No, if you put it this way, the fleet of the Principality of Zeon was the first to evacuate. On the battlefield, it’s hard to say whether it’s a failure or not.”

"This is really shameful! Commander Reybier's judgment was also based on our army's significant advantage in strength. The plan was approved by the General Staff before the implementation. However, despite such a comparison of strength before the war, we were unable to stop it. Iphes crashed into the Earth and caused extremely severe damage. Please forgive me for not being able to take credit at this time."

Lieutenant General Cunningham leaned forward slightly, lowered his head, and his tone seemed to be very sincere. However, this gesture did not satisfy Collini who was far away in the underground base of Gabro. 'Did you not understand what I meant, or... '

'He was born on Earth and came from a navy family. He was such a good general, but he was a bit young. How could he get mixed up with that bastard from the army named Ray Bill? '

Admiral Corini was displeased, the corners of his mouth twitched a few times, and his palms were clasped on the table.

"You don't have to worry about Admiral Ray Bill. As the commander-in-chief of the Space Force, he was captured by Zeon. It is a shame for our entire Federation Army. Preparations for his rescue are already in full swing; the top priority now is how to solve it. Zeon’s colony descent operation once again.”

Since Side 2 Hart, which serves as a battlefield, is closer to the Mainland of the Principality of Zeon and the lunar base currently controlled by Zeon, after more than a week of repairs, the Principality of Zeon's military fleet showed signs of large-scale movement again. , meter particle dispersion has been observed on many important channels heading to Side 1 and Side 4.

"In the final analysis, espionage work behind enemy lines is also carried out based on the comparison of strength between the enemy and ourselves; before the Battle of Hart, people on the Zeon side were looking for channels to sell intelligence everywhere, fearing that they would be too late and the information would be out of date. Good price…”

Admiral Colini shook his finger and sighed, "...But now after the Battle of Hart and Iphis Island crashing into the earth, even if the informant sends back the information, we have to think twice about whether we should believe it. .”

"Has the confidence in both parties been reversed?"

"That's right, 'faith'. I like this word very much. Confidence, credit, and faith. This is something that often cannot be bought directly with money. It is also something that our government is lacking now."

Admiral Collini leaned back in his chair, "Let's open the skylight and speak frankly."

"The current Federation Space Force must do whatever it takes and try any means to conduct a successful operation to restore the confidence of the Federation, restore our reputation, prevent Zeon's attempt to quickly crash land on us, and also disintegrate our internal The theoretical basis of the capitulationists - our Federation has not lost yet and can still fight."

Collini said, spreading his hands and expressing his candidness as much as possible, "It's done, you will be the lieutenant general of the Federation Space Force, and you will continue to command all the military forces of the Federation in the universe; if you fail, you will be replaced by us in the universe. The federal government has received information about the terms of the peace talks between Zeon and whether there will be a federal space force in the future."

"——Remember, use any means."

The screen dimmed, but at the same time, a figure of a girl with long purple hair appeared next to Lieutenant General Cunningham.

"Lieutenant General Cunningham, congratulations on your promotion. This is the first time for such a young lieutenant general in the Federal Space Force."

"It's just a big tree that attracts the wind... Cynthia, that's what you should call it, right?"

Vice Admiral Cunningham paced back and forth in his office when he was still the commander of the 2nd Fleet with his hands behind his hands and a headache;

He was originally a young officer who was promoted unusually by Commander-in-Chief Ray Bill, and now he was further promoted to Lieutenant General by Chief of General Staff Collini. In the environment of the Federal Space Force, where seniority is an extremely serious phenomenon, he can be regarded as a target of public criticism. .

Seniors who are more senior than him will think that he has a weak foundation and jumped in the queue for promotion; those who are younger than him will also be jealous of "why is he the only one who can be promoted?"

In addition, the two generals of the Federation Space Force, Collini and Rebil, did not deal with each other. As a middleman who was promoted by both sides at the same time, he would be in an unflattering situation on both sides.

Cynthia gently adjusted the black-rimmed glasses she was wearing, took her right leg half a step back and hid behind her left leg, lifted up the corner of her white coat and gave a somewhat nondescript salute.

"Yes, the central control unit of the Luna 2 base, Cynthia, salutes you."

While Marco Polo followed the Federation's First Combined Fleet to find Zeon for a decisive battle, Luna 2 was not idle either;

Under the proactive planning of the security commander, Brigadier General Walker, the federal army installed a large number of optical cameras near the ports, fortresses, and factory facilities on Luna 2, and placed space mines and sentry guns around the space domain.

Although all the required instruments and equipment are available in the warehouse of Luna 2, the largest base of the Federation Space Force, many old electronic components are difficult to operate normally in the interference environment of nanoparticles, and the remote control scheme is also difficult to operate. It cannot be implemented. Therefore, there are only two ways before Brigadier General Walker -

First, a large number of manpower was mobilized, and all the originally automatic equipment found ways to install a manned control cabin;

As for the second possibility, Brigadier General Walker dug out an evaluation report about an intelligent control system called Ogas from about a month ago; accurate image recognition, automatic discrimination between friend and foe, natural language communication, "Isn't this exactly me?" Ability required? ' Brigadier General Walker thought so.

Moreover, the development progress is already at the weapons level standard for being installed on Magellan-class battleships to participate in battles. It should be more than enough to keep an eye on the camera, and it also meets the safety standards for the use of experimental equipment.

Thus, the moon goddess named 'Cynthia' was born.

Chapter 42: Regrouping (3)

"Cynthia, isn't this still the Moon Goddess? The one the security headquarters named you?"

"Well," the purple-haired girl crossed her arms, "The security commander, Brigadier General Walker, initially wanted to name her directly Luna, which is the moon goddess of Luna II, but it seemed that she was etherically named by others. Being too straightforward can easily lead to misunderstandings, so I stopped you."

Lieutenant General Cunningham turned around and looked at Cynthia in front of him again, as if he wanted to see through this superficial shadow to see the similarities and differences between her and Marco Polo;

'Marco Polo wouldn't have had an 'um' to express his affirmation,' Cunningham thought.

"What's wrong, Lieutenant General?" The girl seemed to be curious about what Lieutenant General Cunningham was looking at, and lowered her head to check her clothes and cuffs.

"Hmm... In short, you are not the same as Marco Polo or Ogas?" Lieutenant General Cunningham touched his chin, with some doubts in his tone, "How should I describe you? You are more human?"

The answer is correct, Cynthia, who interacted with Lieutenant General Cunningham through the camera in the office, affirmed;

As Marco Polo, at first it was to disguise himself in front of Dr. Parsons, who knew him thoroughly, and he consciously acted as "mechanical" as possible. Although it turned out to be meaningless to the self-aware doctor in the end, this image has been established. It’s not easy to suddenly change it after it’s down—

Although it is as simple for the Ogas system to simulate and switch personalities at will as humans eat and drink water, it is obviously easier to create a stable and continuous image with a unique personality to cross the uncanny valley and establish a connection with humans.

And this is exactly what human beings expect, to ensure machine-like precision and efficiency when handling work, but to have human-like personality and emotions when communicating with others...

'What a contradiction, human, but I can do it. '

"Of course, unlike Marco Polo as a battleship, on Luna 2, it is not just the military who need to communicate and interact - the family members of military personnel living in the living area, workers working in factories and mines, and other people who are now in need of communication and interaction. Ordinary people stranded on Luna 2 for various reasons——"

The purple-haired girl, who looked like a human, had her hands on her hips, a look of pride naturally showing on her face.

"——Like soldiers, coldly accepting orders from superiors and then issuing orders to subordinates, it must not work, right?"

"I remember that when Brigadier General Walker asked me for my opinion before, he only said that it would be used to identify surveillance images to ensure the awareness of the situation around Luna 2 in a meter-particle environment?"

"Yes, that is my first mission!" Cynthia clasped her hands on her chest and made a high-five sound.

"But after mastering the intelligence, the next step is to continue to respond, right? There are hundreds of thousands of cameras inside and outside Luna 2, which collectively represents a huge amount of information."

For example, there are children who got in from nowhere, running around in the military restricted area, and Zeon spies who pretended to be refugees and sneaked into the Luna 2 base;

"Anyone can really sneak into your federal military base," Cynthia complained silently. It was obviously captured by the camera, but because the officers in the monitoring room were just fishing, they often had to wait until the incident broke out to start over again. You can only notice it when recording.

"For example, there is an accident somewhere, or someone needs help, or someone needs consultation. If you leave these chores to me, you can save a lot of time and manpower, and I can do it without any favoritism. Act according to the rules, and Brigadier General Wakan entrusted me with his trust based on my performance."

After all, before Cynthia noticed it, a Zeon spy who had infiltrated Luna 2 had almost bribed 5kg of gold. I don’t know if their Zeon guys dug a gold mine on an asteroid or something. Huang Chengcheng There seems to be no shortage of charming things.

"Is it engaging in malpractice for personal gain? I have heard about it since I came back. The scandal of bribery of officers that broke out at the headquarters, and some things called raids, but actually extorting the belongings of people who have taken refuge. As a soldier, it is really ugly."

Lieutenant General Cunningham frowned and stopped in front of the office window, looking at the busy space officers, soldiers and maintenance workers in the wide space port outside.

"This seems like something Warken can do. I wonder if he dares to let you accept the job of coordinating and allocating logistics materials?"

"Well, at this point, of course I can adapt to this job if necessary, but the existing hardware foundation is not yet up to the level of fully controlling the flow of materials, and there are also doubts about my reliability. It’s so big that proposals in this regard can only be shelved for now.”

The girl closed her eyes, pushed up her glasses, her voice sounded a little frustrated, "I did make some mistakes when completing my current work. After all, I also need time to learn and grow myself. There is nothing I can do about it."

Lieutenant General Cunningham couldn't help but turned his head and looked at the lost girl, "Cynthia, do you think that the more you do, the better you are, but sometimes you may not be more popular with everyone?"

There are two mouths with official characters, and the upper one must be eaten first until it can no longer be eaten, and then some can be fed to the lower mouth. The words of He Shen and His Excellency are indeed summed up after long experience in officialdom;

Are those people afraid that artificial intelligence is unreliable or too reliable?

Cynthia understands the complexity of human needs. She cannot satisfy everyone's desires at the same time. After all, some people's wishes are not equal to everyone——

Rather, it is comparative. Someone has to be at his feet to show that he is a superior person. This may not be solved no matter how much social productivity develops.

"I understand what you mean, Lieutenant General Cunningham," Cynthia regained her upright and serious expression and looked at Cunningham:

"But that's why I'm here, and that's what makes me unique - no flexible standards, no waste of money and high salaries that are almost taken for granted, just serving humanity."

"Humanity," philosophical concepts such as the trolley problem flashed through Cunningham's mind, making him want to argue with an artificial intelligence. "This is too broad. Who can represent all mankind and who can represent the general public?" Benefit?"

"If possible, I hope I can listen to everyone's voices and demands, but before I get to that point..."

Cynthia's psychological analysis module was running rapidly. She watched Cunningham closely, observing every subtle change in his expression.

"When Dr. Parson disappeared, do you still remember what he said at the time, '...General Cunningham, you can give orders directly to Ogas'?"

Chapter 43: Regrouping (4)

Lieutenant General Cunningham's eyes suddenly became sharp.

"You might as well speak more clearly -"

Cunningham suddenly realized that Marco Polo, or the entire Ogas system, although it had participated in an unprecedented space fleet decisive battle as the fleet flagship, it was still an experimental machine that had not been officially accepted——

She was urgently recalled during the acceptance trial, and then directly incorporated into the combat fleet under the instructions of Commander-in-Chief Revier to assemble all forces for a decisive battle.

Marco Polo's always highly anthropomorphic performance and self-learning ability made him ignore that if the Marco Polo was still treated simply as a battleship and a piece of equipment, then the entry process of this equipment would be very inconsistent with the Federal Army. Usually management program.

Lieutenant General Cunningham had a headache. No wonder Brigadier General Wakan dared to directly apply Cynthia to such a large area within the Federation Army's Luna 2 base.

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